MT. EDEN, KY (WAVE) – Mt. Eden firefighters vowed Tuesday night that insurance and their own determination would help them rebuild after a fire destroyed a firehouse.

The Fire Board of Trustees voted to open a $100,000 line of credit for equipment purchases, in case the insurance money doesn’t arrive quickly. Investigators on Wednesday will again look for a cause of the fire.

The early Tuesday fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the building, trucks and other equipment. Offers of help have come from as far as West Virginia and Alabama, Lt. John Butler said.

“It means a lot to us that people – we don’t even know where they are (from) or who they are – are offering up equipment to help us out,” Butler said. “You can’t even put that into words what that means.”

Firefighters won’t know what offers they will accept until they find a nearby place to house the loaned equipment, Butler said. New medical equipment will be the first priority because the SUV used for medical runs burned in the fire he said.

Firefighters from Spencer and Shelby counties will respond with Mt. Eden crews for now, because the fire district cuts across county lines.

The Taylorsville-Spencer County Fire Department was one agency that offered a fire engine to assist the Mt. Eden firefighters.

“You hurt for a fellow brother or sister firefighter who’s going through that,” Taylorsville-Spencer County Fire Chief Nathan Nation said. “There’s going to be tremendous support for them to get them back on their feet.”

Nation, who was among the crews that responded to the fire, said he could see “heartbreak” on the faces of some of the Mt. Eden firefighters.

One of them was Harold Herndon, who has served as a Mt. Eden volunteer for 35 years. The firehouse felt like home to many firefighters, Herndon said.

“There were a few tears shed,” he said. “But we’re a strong bunch, and it may make us stronger.”